Response to Intervention
RTI: Collecting Student Baseline &
Monitoring Data
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Response to Intervention
Common Types of Student Assessment & ProgressMonitoring Data
Archival/
Background
Baseline/
ProgressMonitoring
Data Sources

Grade Report Cards. Grades provide evidence of student performance in previous years. Teacher
comments describe student academic performance and general behaviors.

Test / Screening Data. Test records from the student’s cumulative folder illustrate academic strengths and
weaknesses. Results from group tests and universal screenings given during the current school year
give a useful comparison to peer performance.

Student Interview or Self-Completed Interest Survey. The student can inform adults about perceived
academic or behavioral strengths or weaknesses, preferred methods of learning and review, interests
or hobbies, and favorite rewards or reinforcers.

Teacher Interview. The classroom teacher is interviewed about the student. The instructor answers
questions about the student’s academic skill level and performance, work habits, interactions with
peers, and general behaviors.


Class and Homework Grades. Grades from the current year provide a comparison of the student to
average class or grade performance. Trends or variations in the target student’s grades can also
provide insight into underlying academic problems.


Attendance/Tardiness Records. Patterns of absences and tardy arrivals from the current year may suggest
evidence of victimization by bullies, work avoidance, school phobia, or other causes. Attendance data
across school years may confirm the chronic nature of the problem.
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Response to Intervention
Common Types of Student Assessment & ProgressMonitoring Data (Cont.)
Archival/
Background
Baseline/
ProgressMonitoring


Office Disciplinary Referrals. Current disciplinary records show rate, intensity, and circumstances of
behavioral problems as well as patterns of misbehavior. Past years’ records may demonstrate a long
history of problem behaviors.

Permanent (‘Work’) Products. The student is observed completing independent seatwork. The work is then
collected and examined. This assessment yields information about the student’s independent work
habits, ability to use correct problem-solving strategies, and degree of on-task behavior.

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM). Short CBM probes have been developed in reading fluency, math
computation, writing, spelling, and phonemic awareness skills. CBM data can be used to compare the
target student to peers and to monitor the student’s response to individually tailored interventions.

Daily Behavior Report Cards (DBRCs). These rating forms can be customized to evaluate specific student
behaviors. The teacher uses the DBRC to rate the student on a daily basis, comparing the student’s
behavior to that of ‘typical’ peers or to the teacher’s behavioral expectations.

Structured Behavioral Observations. Direct observations of student behaviors using a structured recording
format provides an estimate of the rate at which problem behaviors occur, such as out of seat, callouts, and inattention. The behaviors of ‘typical’ classmates can also be measured to provide a peer
comparison.

Behavior Logs. Whenever a behavioral episode occurs, the teacher writes brief notes describing the
student’s behavior and related information, such as possible triggers and the duration, intensity, and
outcome of the episode. This method of behavioral recording is most useful for significant problem
behaviors (e.g., biting an adult) that occur infrequently.
Data Sources
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Response to Intervention
Summative vs. Formative Data
Assessment
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Response to Intervention
Summative data is static information that provides a fixed ‘snapshot’
of the student’s academic performance or behaviors at a particular
point in time. School records are one source of data that is often
summative in nature—frequently referred to as archival data.
Attendance data and office disciplinary referrals are two examples of
archival records, data that is routinely collected on all students.
In contrast to archival data, background information is collected
specifically on the target student. Examples of background information
are teacher interviews and student interest surveys, each of which can
shed light on a student’s academic or behavioral strengths and
weaknesses. Like archival data, background information is usually
summative, providing a measurement of the student at a single point in
time.
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Response to Intervention
Formative assessment measures are those that can be administered
or collected frequently—for example, on a weekly or even daily basis.
These measures provide a flow of regularly updated information
(progress monitoring) about the student’s progress in the identified
area(s) of academic or behavioral concern.
Formative data provide a ‘moving picture’ of the student; the data
unfold through time to tell the story of that student’s response to
various classroom instructional and behavior management strategies.
Examples of measures that provide formative data are CurriculumBased Measurement probes in oral reading fluency and Daily Behavior
Report Cards.
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Response to Intervention
Student Archival Information
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Response to Intervention
Student
Archival
Information
Sheet
p. 125
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Response to Intervention
Student Interview/Survey
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Response to Intervention
Student Interview Learning Survey pp. 126-127
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Response to Intervention
Attendance & Tardiness Data
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Response to Intervention
Measuring Student Attendance/Tardiness pp. 128-129
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Response to Intervention
Measuring Student Attendance/Tardiness pp. 128-129
Hypothesis for Poor Attendance/ Chronic
Tardiness
Intervention Ideas
Y
N
The student is experiencing frequent or chronic illness.
(Documentation from the student’s physician indicates
that the student is out of school due to illness.)
If the student is physically able to complete
work when out of school, send work home on
days when the student is absent.
Communicate with the student’s parents and
physician (via school nurse) to explore
possible supports that would permit the
student to attend school and learn successfully
despite the student’s illness.
Y
N
The student is avoiding work. (Evidence shows a
pattern in which the student is more likely to be absent
or tardy when specific school learning activities are
scheduled.)
Adjust the level of difficulty of the academic
work that the student is avoiding to ensure
greater success.
Make the academic work more engaging by
building lessons around topics that the student
finds interesting.
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Response to Intervention
Measuring Student Attendance/Tardiness pp. 128-129
Hypothesis for Poor Attendance/ Chronic
Tardiness
Intervention Ideas
Y
N
The student is experiencing anxiety toward work or
school academic expectations. (The student appears to
be anxious about school in general.)
Analyze the school setting to determine the
specific triggers or conditions that appear to
cause the student to become anxious. Sample
interventions to address anxiety include:
Changing the manner in which the student
demonstrates what he or she has learned
(e.g., not being called on in class to answer
difficult questions, not requiring that students
exchange papers to grade each other's work,
etc.).
Working with school or outside mental health
professionals and parents to identify triggers to
the student’s anxiety and to develop a plan to
reduce the student’s school anxiety by
systematically desensitizing that student’s
anxiety response.
Y
N
The student is being picked on or bullied in school.
Intervene immediately to stop the bullying or
intimidation.
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Response to Intervention
Measuring Student Attendance/Tardiness pp. 128-129
Hypothesis for Poor Attendance/ Chronic
Tardiness
Intervention Ideas
Y
N
The student appears to lack interest in any aspect of
his or her school program.
Explore ideas for changing the student’s
school program to increase the student’s
motivation to attend. For example, a student
who has no desire to obtain a high school
diploma may be motivated to come to school if
his or her educational program includes a
vocational component that the student finds
immediately rewarding.
Y
N
Factors outside the student’s control (e.g.,
transportation issues, family issues) cause the student
to be absent or tardy.
Identify the factor(s) preventing the student
from getting to school and develop a school
plan to overcome those factors. If necessary,
involve outside agencies to intervene to get
the student to school.
Y
N
The school team has identified another reason for the
student’s absenteeism or tardiness.
____________________________
Reason: ______________________________
_____________________________________
____________________________
____________________________
____________________________
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Response to Intervention
Analyzing Attendance Records p. 130
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Response to Intervention
School Attendance:
Teacher Interview
Form
p. 131
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Response to Intervention
School Attendance:
Parent Interview
Form
p. 132
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Response to Intervention
Student Independent Work
(‘Permanent Products’):
Assessing Completion, Accuracy and
Overall Quality
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Response to Intervention
Steps in Assessing Student Independent Work: pp. 133-134
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Response to Intervention
Hypotheses for Poor or Limited Work Completion pp. 134
Student Scenarios
Sample Intervention Ideas
The student completes independent work
quickly with time to spare--but the work
contains ‘careless’ mistakes or is of poor
quality.
Provide the student with incentives to slow down and use the full
time allocated to complete the assignment.
Require that the student use a quality checklist or rubric to review
work before turning it in. If the student attempts to turn in
completed work that does not meet teacher expectations, send the
student back to his or her seat to continue to work on the
assignment.
The student was off-task during much of the
work session. The assignment was not
completed within the time allocated.
Use strategies to increase the student’s attention to task (e.g.,
teacher redirection to task, student self-monitoring of work
completion).
The completed assignment was of poor quality
and/or contained many errors.
Review with the student the skills or strategies required for the
assignment.
Give the student correctly completed models similar to what the
student must produce for the assignment. Encourage the student
to refer to these models whenever he or she is ‘stuck’.
Approach the student in a low-key manner periodically during
independent seatwork to see if the student requires assistance.
Provide the student an incentive (e.g., five additional minutes of
free time) if the student improves the quality or accuracy of the
work.
The student did not complete the assignment
in the allotted time. However, the student
demonstrated a high degree of quality and/or
accuracy in his or her work.
Boost the student’s speed by providing him or her with
opportunities to practice the skills or strategies required for the
assignment. Give the student feedback and encouragement as the
student increases his or her working speed.
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Response to Intervention
Independent
Seatwork
Observation Form
p.135
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Response to Intervention
Classroom Behavior Observation Form (CBOF)
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
CBOF: Behavioral Definitions
Schoolwork (SW) (Momentary Time Sampling) --This category
encompasses any formal learning activity that the student has
been assigned to complete or is expected to take part in.
Schoolwork is not scored if the child is doing something other
than the assigned work (e.g., daydreaming, talking with a friend
about non-school subjects). If the observer is at all unsure if the
student is engaged in an allowable and educationally related
activity, the teacher should be approached unobtrusively during or
soon after the observation and asked if the student's activities fell
within the instructor's definition of acceptable academic
engagement that qualifies as Schoolwork.
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Response to Intervention
CBOF: Behavioral Definitions
Out of Seat (OS) (Whole Interval Recording) -- Any observed instance in
which the student has left his or her seat during instructional time
is scored as Out of Seat. This category includes those situations
in which the student obtains permission to leave his or her seat
(e.g., to run an errand for the teacher, take a bathroom break,
etc.), as well as those in which the student has left his or her seat
without permission.
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Response to Intervention
CBOF: Behavioral Definitions
Playing with Objects/Motor Activity (PLO/MO) (Whole Interval Recording)
--Two related kinds of behavior are collapsed into the single
category. Any instance in which the child plays for 2 seconds or
more with an object (e.g., a small toy, eraser, piece of paper) is
scored.
Additionally, this category is scored for instances in which the
child displays repetitive, "restless" motor movement (e.g., rapping
a desktop, rocking a tipped chair back and forth, tapping a foot)
for 2 seconds or more. On the other hand, if the child were
rummaging through her or his desk apparently looking for
something, the observer would not score the behavior as
PLO/MO because the behavior is presumed to be purposeful and
to lack the aimless or repetitive quality that defines the category.
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Response to Intervention
CBOF: Behavioral Definitions
Calling Out/Verbalization (CO) (Whole Interval Recording) -- The basic
unit for the category is any verbalization by the target child during
an instructional period that is considered inappropriate because
the child failed to use accepted procedures for gaining permission
to speak or is making noises that fall outside accepted academic
discourse. Examples of Calling out/Verbalizations might include a
student shouting out an answer without raising his hand, a child
humming loudly during a math test, or a student who makes
"nonsense" noises while another child is reading aloud to the
group.
Direct communication between the target child and another
individual is not coded as CO/Verb but instead is noted as a "Peer
Interaction" or "Teacher Interaction."
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Response to Intervention
CBOF: Behavioral Definitions
Peer Interaction (PI) (Whole Interval Recording) -- Verbal exchanges
between the target child and classmates are recorded, regardless
of which party initiated the interaction.
Teacher Interaction (TI) (Whole Interval Recording) -- Verbal exchanges
between the target child and the instructor are recorded.
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
CBOF Form:
Sample
p. 154
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Response to Intervention
CBOF Calculation Table: Sample & Profile p. 155
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Response to Intervention
CBOF Data
Summary
Sheet:
Sample
p. 156
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Response to Intervention
Instructional Setting Rating Sheet
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Response to Intervention
Instructional
Setting Rating
Sheet
p. 157
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Response to Intervention
Monitoring Student Academic Behaviors:
Daily Behavior Report Cards
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Response to Intervention
Daily Behavior Report Cards (DBRCs) Are…
brief forms containing student behavior-rating
items. The teacher typically rates the student daily
(or even more frequently) on the DBRC. The
results can be graphed to document student
response to an intervention.
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Response to Intervention
Daily Behavior Report Cards Can Monitor…
•
•
•
•
•
•
Inattention/Hyperactivity
On-Task Behavior (Attention)
Work Completion
Organization Skills
Compliance With Adult Requests
Ability to Interact Appropriately With Peers
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Response to Intervention
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Response to Intervention
Daily
Behavior
Report Card:
Younger
Students/
Daily
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Response to Intervention
Daily
Behavior
Report Card:
Younger
Students/We
ekly
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4 548 6
Response to Intervention
Daily
Behavior
Report
Card:
Older
Students/
Weekly
4 54 86
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Response to Intervention
Daily Behavior Report Card: Chart
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Response to Intervention
RTI Teams: Recommendations for Data
Collection
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Response to Intervention
RTI Teams: Recommendations for Data Collection
• Collect a standard set of background information on each
student referred to the RTI Team.
RTI Teams should develop a standard package of background
(archival) information to be collected prior to the initial problemsolving meeting. For each referred student, a Team might elect to
gather attendance data, office disciplinary referrals for the
current year, and the most recent state assessment results.
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Response to Intervention
RTI Teams: Recommendations for Data Collection
• For each area of concern, select at least two progress-monitoring
measures.
RTI Teams can place greater confidence in their progressmonitoring data when they select at least two measures to track
any area of student concern (Gresham, 1983)-ideally from at
least two different sources (e.g., Campbell & Fiske, 1959).
With a minimum of two methods in place to monitor a student
concern, each measure serves as a check on the other. If the
results are in agreement, the Team has greater assurance that it
can trust the data. If the measures do not agree with one
another, however, the Team can investigate further to determine
the reason(s) for the apparent discrepancy.
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Response to Intervention
RTI Teams: Recommendations for Data Collection
• Monitor student progress frequently.
Progress-monitoring data should reveal in weeks--not months-whether an intervention is working because no teacher wants to
waste time implementing an intervention that is not successful.
When progress monitoring is done frequently (e.g., weekly), the
data can be charted to reveal more quickly whether the student’s
current intervention plan is effective.
Curriculum-based measurement, Daily Behavior Report Cards,
and classroom observations of student behavior are several
assessment methods that can be carried out frequently.
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Response to Intervention
END
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